Healing reserve feat?

[Stalker0]

My rationale for keeping the spell level requirement low was it is most beneficial at low levels. First level clerics are essentially worthless because they have to blow their two first level spells (assuming a Wis bonus spell) on healing every time.

In a lot of 1st level games though, the party may rest after a single encounter...so their natural healing does a lot, the cleric doesn't need to do as much.

I definately think healing at will is too good unless you institute a high spelllevel prereq. There comes a point when healing at will is balanced by how many resources the party has. But at low levels? That's crazy powerful.

 

[Owen K.C. Stephens]

You might borrow a page from the dragon shaman, and only allow the healing to bring a target up to some % of total hit points (50%, for the dragon shaman ability). That still makes it very useful free healing, but does prevent the cleric from sacrificing one spell slot to heal the party of all hp damage after every fight.

You could even make the % based on the level of the spell slot. For example: 30% of maximum hp, +5% per level used. Thus a low-level character may only be able to bring you up to 35% to you max (with a 1st level spell slot), while a 19th level cleric could use a 9th level slot and get you up to 75%.

 

[GreatLemur]

The biggest issue with free healing is that it breaks the assumptions of balance in a campain that features multiple combats between rest because you can make shure that everyone is fully healed at the start of every combat without any cost in GP or spell slots. A wand of CLW while it can mimic this, also has a definate (though sometimes acceptable) cost to it.

even at 2hp per round you can heal 1200 HP in one hour. It is something significant to consider and to date, it is the reason there are no WotC published magic items at any price that allow use activated healing without a daily limit.

I like this a lot. I think one of D&D's most enduring problems is the "fight, rest for eight hours, fight, rest for eight hours" pattern. An ability that lets the party healer convert lethal damage into nonlethal for free would replace the "waiting for the cleric to get his spells back" bit with a more reasonable (and hopefully shorter) "resting up to let natural recovery finish the job" segment.

 

[farscapesg1]

Here's another vote for converting damage to subdual. Acutally, I really like the idea and would snap it up in a moment if I was playing a cleric. Hmm, isn't that a sign that it is still too good?

 

[szilard]

How about:


Healing Palm
Prereq: Ability to cast 2nd-level Conjuration (Healing) spells
Benefit: As long as the caster has prepared or the ability to cast a 2nd-level or higher Conjuration (Healing) spell, he is able to provide a touched creature with Fast Healing 1 for a number of rounds equal to the spell level of his highest level available Conjuration (Healing) spell. For example, a cleric with Mass Heal prepared can use Healing Palm to provide Fast Healing 1 for 9 rounds. This requires a standard action and has no effect on undead.

...with the addition that either:

1) This can be used no more than once/hour per target, or
2) This cannot be used on a target that has 50% or more of her total hit points.


-Stuart

 

[Nyeshet]

That might work. It is somewhat similar to the Warlock special 'Fiendish Resilience'.

Personally, I think the nonlethal damage is an interesting alternative.

Had I come up with the idea, I likely would have used something akin to:

Benefit: The cleric can at will as a standard action heal a number of hit points equal to up to the level of the prepared spell, but in exchange the cleric takes nonlethal damage equal to the points healed. This non-lethal damage must heal naturally. It cannot be healed magically except by a Miracle or other form of direct intercession from their patron deity.

The fact that this nonlethal damage cannot be healed magically acts as a limit to what otherwise could be an overly potent at will ability.

Actually, if I used the above I would likely go a step further: the ability to heal ability damage on a one for one basis (ie: the cleric takes on the damage, but it must heal naturally). Perhaps two points of ability damage to the cleric to heal one point of ability drain might also work? Or perhaps that is a bit too powerful? Hmm, or perhaps the feat would require the preparing or ability to cast one of the 'Restoration' spells, somehow limiting its ability to heal based on the type of restoration cast?

I much rather prefer limitations that are loose enough that the player doesn't necessarily feel them as such (The cleric could choose to heal hp equal to their total hp and fall unconscious if the player so willed it.) while at the same time are strict enough to prevent overuse of potentially overly potent abilities (The player will almost never choose to do so, however, as this would a) remove the cleric from play for the day, and b) could leave the cleric vulnerable to potentially lethal dangers, dependent on the situation.).

 

[Kaodi]

Another vote for converting to subdual damage, but I think I might up the requirement to 3rd.

Benefit: As a standard action, you can cause a living creature to convert lethal damage to subdual damage at a rate of 1/round, for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell prepared. If you use this ability on a creature a second time before the duration of the first is completed, the ability lasts for the duration of the current use, but the damage conversion rate does not change. If the target partakes in strenuous activity during this time, the conversion ceases.

My thinking in that keeping it at 1/round makes it so that there is still a time element involved, so that if you have to convert 60 hps it will take 6 minutes, which can be enough time for something to happen while they are waiting around to heal.

 

[Nifft]

IMHO, the point of the reserve feats is to gain a small-ish combat bonus (or at-will combat ability) for the penalty of not using your big gun right away.

In that spirit, here's what I'd do for healing:

Positive Channeler [Reserve]
Prereq: Ability to cast 4th level spells
Benefit: So long as you have a 4th level (or higher) spell of the (Healing) sub-school available, your melee attacks deal extra damage against undead, +1 point per 2 levels of the highest spell available.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Nadaka]

but in that case, you are still waiting an hour for natural healing to remove the subdual.

It isn't bad because even if you converted every wound to subdual, a second fight before that hour is up would "knock down" a character just as easilly as if they had no wound-subdual conversion, the only difference is that the knock down is not fatal.

 

[Kaodi]

Actually, the real problem with a reserve feat that allows you to change lethal to non-lethal is that a wand of cure minor (at half the cost of a wand of cure light) is suddenly brutally devestating.